Listing Things

We had our snow tires installed today. It started to snow about two hours later.

We have a tiny backyard in which the former goofball owner planted two maple trees. They will removed tomorrow while they're still on the small side. A wise man once advised me to "Take care of your problems while they're still little." So we are. One hates to cut down trees, but I think this has to be done.

I had a fiddle lesson today, the first in six months. The teacher thought I sounded better than I did then. I was glad to hear that. Progress is slow, but she was able to notice an improvement after not hearing me for so long. Thank goodness for that. Sometimes, I wonder about my sanity in all of this; sometimes, I think I'm crazy even to be trying to fight this uphill battle. Think of immigrants learning a new language. The kids are speaking fluently withing six months to a year; most parents will speak with an accent for their whole lives; the grandparents are usually a lost cause. As you know, I'm a grandparent.

After years of not paying attention, I have started to follow hockey again in the last few years. My team, the Montreal Canadiens was supposed to be good this year. They're not. Not yet anyway. They are the most successful hockey franchise in history, but have fallen on hard times recently. However, they've been improving in the past few years, and we loyal fans thought that they would be contenders in this their 100th anniversary. So far, so bad.

This weekend we are heading to Toronto to visit relatives and take in a Great Big Sea concert. They're an upbeat Newfoundland group. It should be good to hear them once more, the last time being eight years ago (I think). We'll also see Cuppa's brother and wife, and then her sister (Turtlestack) along with her husband (Treebeard) and daughter (Sare). Sare, is just back from Korea and expecting her first child in another month or so. It will be a boy as will our next grand. There will only be about a month between them. I wonder how often they will meet though, especially if she settles back in Korea.

I believe that Andropause is real. I seem to suffer from hot flashes through much of the night lately. When I get up in exasperation, the house is cold enough that I cool down rapidly, but once I lie down again, I heat right back up again, sometimes without any covers on. Cold standing; hot lying. Crazy.

Cuppa and I finished our latest book last night: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. It's written by Bart Ehrman who, like I, is a former evangelical. It's a very readable book if you're interested in Christianity: written for the layperson but very informative. However, if you believe in plenary inspiration and wish to keep believing in it, don't read the book. Plenary inspiration is the belief held by many evangelicals, that God inspired every word that we read in scripture and that there are no mistakes. What I didn't know until I read this book is that it's a relatively new doctrine, probably less than a century old and has not been the view of most Christians at most times.

In my fiction reading, I've recently read Louise Penny's Still Life. She's a Canadian mystery writer who sets her stories, at least those that I have read so far, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. She's a very good writer although she may need to learn not to go overboard in her endings. I've also read two novels by Rhys Bowen. Apparently, she has several series on the go. One features Evan Evans a young police detective in Wales. Another revolves around Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie in the 1930's, a woman who is thirty-fourth in line to the throne. I enjoyed both Evan and Georgiana; they're both lighter than many British mysteries, but I liked both of the protagonists and plots. I've also read several Martha Grimes mysteries lately; she's a good reliable standby. Oh ... I almost forgot Deborah Crombie's, Where Memories Lie. I don't know why I almost forgot it because I may have liked that one best of all.

Finally (much to everyone's relief), we usually buy one new Christmas CD every year. This year it's Loreena McKennit's, A Midwinter Night's Dream. If you are looking for something seasonal but different and enjoyable, give Loreena a try. For Canadians, we found this CD on sale for $15 at the nearest Chapters store; it's listed for $23 at Amazon Canada and $17 online at Chapters.